China adopts new national security law

China's top legislature, the NPC Standing Committee, on July 1 adopted a controversial new National Security Law that increases cyber security powers. At its bi-monthly session, 155 members of the committee voted on the measure. The law will increase overseeing of the Internet in China, and authorities will now take tougher measures against cyber attacks, thefts and the spread of "harmful information." The law is one of three adopted in recent months to improve China's security and "strengthen ideological control over the public." The law also includes a cyberspace "sovereignty" clause, which covers assets and activities in space, the deep sea and the polar regions. Zhang Dejiang, chairman of the NPC, stated that the law is extremely important due to increasing security problems within China.

The Chinese government has been accused of extreme actions to eliminate perceived threats against its security. In the past year the government has executed eight people for terrorism and separatist-related crimes, as well as sentencing 12 to death for attacks on police and government offices. In January Human Rights Watch criticized China's proposed new counterterrorism legislation as a "recipe for abuses." The Chinese government maintains that their draft law conforms to UN resolutions and that it allows for human rights to be "respected and guaranteed." In early November China's Congress passed a counter-espionage law in order to increase national security. The regulations against NGO's in the current legislation were preceded by a proposal made in December that would tighten registration requirements for the organizations to continue operations in China.

Note: The 12 death sentences referenced above are only those for terrorism and related crimes, all ethnic Uighurs from Xinjiang region. China continues to execute thousands annually on other offenses—contributing to a global spike in use of the death penalty.

In justifying new and yet greater restrictions on Internet access in the People's Republic, Chinese sectury wonks are blatantly resorting to the standard conspiranoia about how all unrest and revolution around the world are the product of US intrigues. "Of late, an Internet tornado has swept across the world…massively impacting and shocking the globe," said an article by Ye Zheng and Zhao Baoxian of Beijing's Academy of Military Sciences, especially citing the Arab revolutions. "Behind all this lies the shadow of America. Faced with this warm up for an Internet war, every nation and military can't be passive but is making preparations to fight the Internet war." Russia Today of course cites this approvingly.

Um, didn't the Chinese state come to power in a revolution in 1949? And didn't conservatives in the US blame all unrest and revolution around the world on Chinese and Russian intrigues? Do Ye Zheng and Zhao Baoxian grasp the irony?

Authorities announced a decision to reduce the number of crimes subject to the death penalty in China, the world's top executioner by far. But the reform does not drop the death penalty for drug-related offenses. See full story at Global Ganja Report...